Brachiosaurus
'Brachiosaurus' (name meaning "''Arm Lizard") is a genus of brachiosaurid sauropod dinosaur that originated during the Late Jurassic period in what is now North America, Africa, and Europe. Named for the large bones of its foreleg, Brachiosaurus was an enormous sauropod, among the most iconic and one of the largest dinosaurs ever discovered known from a complete skeleton. Standing over 13 meters tall and measuring 23 meters in length, Brachiosaurus was a 70-ton gargantuan reptile that fed on the tops of Conifer trees in the Late Jurassic forests, sometimes felling them with their sheer bulk if they were taller than them or not. In the Series 2 episode "Time of Giants", several Brachiosaurus were encountered by the team in Colorado 150 million years ago and brought back to the park. They currently reside in Sauropod Savannah along with several other sauropod dinosaurs. Facts Era & Discovery Brachiosaurus lived in North America, Africa, and Europe during the Late Jurassic Period to Early Cretaceous Period from 153–135 million years ago. Perhaps the largest animal in its ecosystem, it lived alongside other sauropods and other herbivores as well as predators like Allosaurus. Brachiosaurus was first described by American paleontologist Elmer S. Riggs in 1903 and was arguably the largest living land animal of its day. Since then, they have become one of the most famous dinosaurs of all time. Physical Attributes A gargantuan sauropod dinosaur that specialized in grazing on the treetops, thanks to an exclusive, monopolizing on the tops which "no other dinosaurs can reach", an adult Brachiosaurus grew to a staggering 34–52 feet (10–16 m) tall (the height of a three-story structure), measured 61–75 feet (18–23 m) long (the length of two buses), and weighed over 40–70 tons (80,000–140,000 lbs.; more than 10 adult elephants, give or take), making them the largest land animals that have ever existed in North America and one of the largest animals that ever walked Planet Earth. Brachiosaurus is the archetypal giant Dinosaur of the Jurassic alongside the giant Diplodocidae genus Diplodocus. Brachiosaurus, though once the largest Dinosaur ever known for decades has some many years ago now been relegated - far surpassed by gigantic sauropod dinosaurs like Argentinosaurus. Nevertheless, Brachiosaurus is a mighty, majestic and awe-inspiring Dinosaur, as famous now as it has been for decades. Its name means, Arm Lizard, in reference to its and its whole families peculiar trait of having longer forelimbs - or 'arms' - than hindlimbs. Named for the large bones of its forelegs, this dinosaur was an enormous sauropod. Brachiosaurus held its neck in a vertical position and was adapted to live on land, with similarities to a Giraffe, browsing in treetops. Its peg-like teeth were used to strip leaves from the high branches. Unlike many of its sauropod relatives, Brachiosaurus had very long forelegs, indicating that its neck was held in a more vertical position. Behavior & Traits Like all sauropods and other herbivorous dinosaurs, Brachiosaurus traveled in herds. When it came to juveniles, even adolescents, they often separated themselves from the herd. And if they were ever threatened by predators, such as Allosaurus, there was always an adult nearby to help. Their kind could effortlessly harvest cones and fresh leaves no other dinosaur could reach. And they had grown enormous on it. These giants were feeding almost constantly to sustain its enormous bulk. They fed on the tops of Conifer trees in the Late Jurassic forests, sometimes felling them with their sheer bulk if they were taller than them or not. They fed on all kinds of trees due to the teeth they had (chisel-like) were not much sought after by anything else around; tough Conifer leaves and cones. Diplodocus, for instance, could only strip the soft ferns and cycads with their weak and simple peg-like teeth. Journal Entry Gallery ecran_brachiosaurus.jpg BA_BrachiosaurusDrinking.jpg WWD1x2_BrachiosaurusWithDiplodocus.jpg 1000px-BA_BrachiosaurusBathing.jpg 1000px-WWD1x2_Brachiosaurus.jpg ImagesWWDBook Stegosaurus.jpg BA Dinosaurs.jpg Trivia *''Brachiosaurus'' is the second largest sauropod dinosaur, as well as the largest Jurassic dinosaur, brought to the park. **While Brachiosaurus may no longer be the largest dinosaur ever known, it is still the largest dinosaur ever discovered in North America. *The sound effects of Brachiosaurus are that of elephant bellows as well as giraffe, elephant, moose, donkey, horse, and cow sounds. Category:Prehistoric Animals Category:Dinosaurs Category:Reptiles Category:Sauropods Category:Jurassic Dinosaurs Category:Jurassic Creatures Category:Herbivores